For the Girl
by Kyoko Kasshu Minamino
Summary: From the beginning, Terry should have known he and Dana were not meant for each other in the same way that most couples were. Anti Terry/Dana, but politely so and with justification. Surprise pairing at the end. Songfic.


A/N: I don't own Batman Beyond or "For the Girl" by The Fratellis. If I did, Dana so wouldn't have been the girl Terry was with in "Epilogue".

**For the Girl**

"Honey, there's some mail for you."

Terry McGinnis sat up and took the envelope his wife handed him. "What's this?"

"Not sure. Looks fancy. Maybe something from Wayne Enterprises?"

"Nah, doesn't have the right logo." After struggling with trying to open the thing, he finally dug his keys out of his pocket and slit the top open. Inside, he found a cream colored card with the words "You're Invited!" in a lovely cursive print. His pale blue eyes widened when he read the names.

"Dana's getting married."

"Really? Wow. It's weird that she still has your address."

Terry let his eyes scan down the page to take in the date and time, not to mention the new beau. It had been four years since the last time they talked so it wasn't like he knew the guy. Strange that she would even bother sending him an invitation but perhaps she was just being polite.

"Yeah. Seems like she found what she was looking for."

"You actually sound glad for her. Aren't you supposed to hate your ex?"

Terry chuckled. "Ah, no. To be honest, half the time I don't even know why we were together. Now that I think about it, we were all wrong for each other."

_La la la la la la_

_Well she said "I know but I just can't tell  
Everything that you've just been saying"_

From the beginning, Terry should have known he and Dana were not meant for each other in the same way that most couples were. The first time they met was at a club downtown: one with multicolored light beams bouncing off the walls and music throbbing like the club had its own pulse. Raves weren't really Terry's thing but he had been dragged here by a couple of his buddies because, quote, "the girls totally make out with each other when they get drunk". He managed to worm his way through the thrashing crowds of teenagers to a secluded area next to the bar. In the brief moment when the band quieted their music to rally the audience for their next selection, he spotted a pretty Asian girl in a powder blue dress and black snow boots. Odd combination, but she stood out as she walked from the dance floor over to a bar stool not far from him. He watched with cool eyes as she ordered a couple bottles of water and happened to glance over at him. Terry smiled and she smiled back, meeting his gaze with interest. After the bartender gave her the bottles, she walked over to him, speaking with an upbeat little voice.

"Enjoying the show?"

Terry shrugged. "It's not my kind of scene, but it's not bad."

He, of course, was being polite. He couldn't stand the band on stage. They were all amateurs in a genre of music he honestly thought was a joke. However, if he could get out of this mess with a cute girl's number, it might have been worth the trip. The girl pouted a little.

"Aw, I'm sorry. I love these guys. I try to make it out here once a week to see them play. I'm Dana."

"Terry."

_Lucy was there as well in the dark  
The kids in the band were playing_

_No one can hear a word or tell  
What the girl was singing  
See, she must've been 16 or 18  
I'm just past caring_

He found out later that they went to the same high school but just hadn't been introduced. They hooked up at lunch and called one another on nights they weren't too busy. A casual sort of relationship congealed between them. She didn't seem to mind that he would occasionally get into fights hanging out with his friends and he didn't mind she was always going out with the girls to gossip about boys at the mall. For a while, he appreciated the different person Dana was from him because most of the girls he'd dated before were close friends of his: smart girls with bold personalities and strong values. He didn't foresee Dana's tastes becoming a problem any time soon or he would have broken it off. They were happy at the time and that was all that mattered.

_She was into the Stones when  
I was into the Roses  
She was breaking my bones when  
I was busting their noses  
She would tell me a secret  
I would lose it the next day  
Young love pleases you easy  
Makes you sick in a bad way_

_And all the while the girls sang  
La la la la she sang  
Kickings for my sweetheart  
Bruises that I just don't miss_

_And she said "I can't love you anymore than this!"_

He learned later on that she was a bit of a high maintenance girlfriend, even before he met Mr. Wayne and became Batman. Dates were usually composed of nice restaurants on the north side of town or cruising down the high-end stores to find her a new dress to wear for the dance that weekend. Her parents were divorced, mainly because her father was an overbearing asshole when he wanted to be, so she often would travel out of town to see her mother. Dana's mother was very well off, therefore partially explaining why she loved shopping and jewelry so much. She begged Terry to come with her to places like New York or London or Paris with her during the summer but he kindly declined the offer. Terry didn't enjoy life in the fast lane, personally: he enjoyed movies on a late night and a box of good pizza, curled up under the covers on the couch. That, to him, was the perfect date. She always pouted when he didn't do something she wanted but if he leaned down and kissed her, she would forget the entire matter. It wasn't until his job as Batman that things really took a turn for the worse.

_La la la la la la la  
La la la la la la la_

_Aw she said she said "No, no, no, no!  
Then again, yes, why don't you kill me?"  
He asked him "Why you messed up right there  
Sweetheart you know that don't thrill me  
Said I would've been there for if you had been a little bit nicer"  
I was dead by Sunday, half dead scared just trying to please her_

_She getting the pills when  
I was into her best friend  
She was chasing the thrills  
And living on the West End  
She was pretty in places  
I lived under her window  
She said "Take me to London"  
Tell me something I don't know_

_And all the while the girls sang  
La la la la she sang  
Kickings for my sweetheart  
Bruises that I just don't miss_

_And she said "I can't love you anymore than this!"_

After he missed date after date, she grew jealous and impatient with him: often starting arguments just to keep him around her longer. Terry could barely keep it together with his mother at home, let alone Dana and her insistence of having "quality time" despite the fact he worked several hours every night. As the days wore on, they went on breaks in the relationship, during which time he would try to figure out a way to make her happy again while feeling relieved on some unconscious level. They never lasted long, though. Within a week, his cell phone would ring and Dana's apologetic voice would fill his ears. It happened so frequently that he didn't notice half the time he took her back out of pity. If there was one thing he knew about Dana, it was that she couldn't stand being alone. She needed people: needed them to tell her how pretty or sweet she was because if they didn't, she felt like she had no identity. She was addicted, in a sense, to attention. Ironic, since her father was as overprotective as one could get.

It wasn't until Terry and Max grew closer out of sharing his secret that he truly noticed how detached he felt from Dana. In truth, he noticed that when they went out, he never spoke as often as she did. He felt more like her pet: something she didn't expect to really respond to her—just listen and wag his tail where appropriate. On some level, he knew she noticed their drifting as well. They had been together for a while now and grew into two different people. The question remained which person had the resolve to break off the already delicate relationship.

When that day finally came, it was Dana who broke it off. They were at a coffee shop—the break up capital of the world—when she plainly stated that she was tired and he was tired and they had no real reason to continue seeing one another. Terry merely nodded, asked if she were okay, and drank his coffee. She paid for hers, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and left. Terry flipped open his phone and started dialing Max's number.

_She was into the Stones when  
I was into the Roses  
She was breaking my bones when  
I was bursting their noses  
She would tell me a secret  
I would lose it the next day  
Young love pleases you easy  
Makes you sick in a bad way  
And all the while the girls sang  
La la la la she sang  
Kickings for my sweetheart  
Bruises that I just don't miss_

_And she said "I don't like you  
You can't stand me  
I can't love you anymore than this."_

"Are you gonna go?" His wife's words jerked him out of his thoughts. Terry smiled and snuck his arms around her waist, tugging her down onto his lap.

"I would but I know someone who might get a little bit jealous."

"Really? Would I know her?"

"Very funny, Max."

FIN

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A/N: Bwahaha! Hope you liked the little twist at the end. I know some of you have missed me and to be honest, I missed posting some Batman Beyond fics on here so I decided to write this one. It's actually been rattling around in my head for about a month until it finally materialized today. Personally, I hate Dana's guts but I thought it would be healthy to actually validate and explain why I feel she is all wrong for Terry. "For the Girl" is just the perfect vehicle in my mind. Hope you enjoyed it. Make sure to review and let me know what you think. Love you all.

Kyoko M.


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